Kenny Wallace might as well be a fortune-teller, as he can see the future unfolding right in front of him. The veteran could not help but weigh in on the hottest topic right now, the Joe Gibbs lawsuit against Chris Gabehart, and he did not hesitate to send out warnings to the NASCAR garage. With claims of data being stolen, Gibbs has been left feeling betrayed after decades of loyalty came to an end last year when Gabehart quietly moved on. But as the NASCAR world dives deep into what went wrong, Wallace is already a step ahead, and things may never look the same again.

Speaking on his Kenny Wallace Podcast, the 62-year-old said things will not look the same in the NASCAR garage.

“This is big. It’s bigger than big. And it’s a loud lawsuit,” he said. “And this will set a precedent. This will change the lives of crew chiefs and competition directors for the rest of their lives. Now, everything, see when you go to work for these teams, you sign all this, you sign non-competes. Crew chiefs, competition directors, you’d better start writing that stuff down at home. Start writing it down at home because you can’t take it with you digitally.”

Historically, crew chiefs and competition directors in NASCAR routinely sign employment agreements that include confidentiality and noncompete provisions as part of their contracts with teams.

These clauses are designed to protect sensitive competitive information, such as race setup data, performance analytics, pit strategy, formulas, and other proprietary details.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

While the exact language varies by team, confidentiality clauses generally prevent current and former employees from disclosing proprietary information during and after their tenure, and noncompete or non-solicitation provisions can limit their ability to work with direct competitors for a set period.

But with this new JGR lawsuit in hand, the NASCAR teams could see themselves becoming more strict about their rules and clauses.

At the center of the recent Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit against Chris Gabehart is the accusation that the ex-JGR employee violated exactly these kinds of contractual obligations.

Joe Gibbs alleges that the crew chief embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information, including payroll details, driver and crew chief compensation data, performance analytics, and race setup files, and then attempted to take that information with him as he negotiated to join Spire Motorsports in a senior role.

The team claims that Gabehart synced the confidential files to a personal Google Drive folder labelled Spire, took photos of documents, and gambled that information would give Spire a competitive advantage, triggering the lawsuit under federal and state trade secret laws.

If proven, the allegations would echo some of the most serious information disputes in racing history. Formula 1’s 2007 “Spygate” scandal, sparked by Ferrari’s claims that McLaren held proprietary technical documents, resulted in sweeping penalties and permanently altered how teams protected competitive data.

Filed in the Western District of North Carolina, the complaint seeks more than $8 million in damages plus attorney fees and injunctive relief, essentially asking the court to stop Gabehart from using or disclosing the information he allegedly retained.

However, Gabehart hasn’t been sitting silent. In a recent claim of his own, he denied the allegations against him.

Gabehart counters JGR’s claims amid ugly lawsuit

While Joe Gibbs Racing has linked Gabehart’s personal Google Drive to the team-issued laptop and maintains that a folder labeled “Spire” exists, Gabehart claims that this is false.

In a statement shared on social media, he said he welcomes the opportunity to prove in court that he did not distribute or misuse any confidential material belonging to JGR.

“I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate to the Court that I have not shared JGR’s confidential information with anyone. In fact, I have already demonstrated that to JGR. A third-party forensic expert retained by JGR recently examined my laptop, cell phone, and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s lawsuit,” he wrote.

Moreover, a third-party forensic expert hired by the team examined his laptop, cell phone, and personal Google Drive and found no evidence supporting the allegations outlined in the lawsuit. Despite the strength of the response, JGR has not publicly addressed his rebuttal.

This dispute is particularly notable given his long tenure with the organization. Gabehart spent more than a decade with the team and previously served as Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, later taking on broader competition leadership responsibilities.

In those roles, he would have had access to sensitive data. However, with new revelations emerging, the NASCAR community is running in circles as the fight between the two intensifies.